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Location: TheRuckSack
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Sierra Club Wilderness
trips and expeditions
Chapter: Michigan (Mackinac)
Group: Central Upper Peninsula (CUPG)
Leader: Michael Neiger, Marquette,
Michigan (Web site; e-mail;
bio)
Review trip
journal from this completed trip
May 27 to
June 6, 2005
19th
Annual (Spring) Canadian Backpacking Expedition
On this years 11-day Canadian Backpacking
Expedition--our 19th annual trip--we'll explore the north escarpment of
the extremely rugged 800'-deep Montreal River Gorge and bushwhack overland
to the magnificent 825'-deep Agawa Canyon where we will recon the seldom-visited
bush secreted away behind its east rim. During our trip, we'll be pouring
over our maps and working the bush in search of undocumented waterfalls,
rocky overlooks, and pristine bivouac locations. We'll also be looking
for massive moose sheds dropped during the previous winter and ground
spoor (tracks and scat) from the ever-elusive timber wolf.
Destination:
Montreal
River Gorge and Agawa Canyon
Algoma
District
South of Wawa, Ontario
Experience level:
-- Expert-level,
high-skills backpacking
-- Only suitable for the hardcore, extremely-fit expeditioner
-- Requires prior backpacking experience with leader
Difficulty:
-- Extremely strenuous
-- Extremely remote, seldom-traversed route
-- Extremely rugged & steep/high-angle terrain
-- Extremely bad bug conditions
...black flies, no-see-ums, mosquitoes
Off-trail/on-trail rating:
80 percent off-trail
map & compass recon
20 percent railroad grades, jeep trails, hydro lines
Participant requirements:
-- Notice:
please review the homepage on this Web site
for general wilderness tripping requirements
-- 18 years old or older
-- non-smoker and non-drinker
-- very physically fit (good aerobic endurance)
-- adventurous spirit
-- proficient swimmer
-- prior wilderness tripping experience
-- fully equipped with lightweight backpacking gear
including rucksack, bivouac gear,
survival gear,
foul-weather gear, rations, stove,
etc.
Evac advisory:
Evac during remote or rugged portions
of this trip
will require helo support.
Bivouac
advisory:
This
is not a basecamp trip. We will move each day
and bivouac in a different location each night,
often deep in the bush and far from roads,
dry & level campsites, potable water, toilets, and
fire rings.
Trip info:
-- 8 a.m. Friday
to late afternoon on Monday
-- Club fee: $20
-- Crown Land Camping Permits: $10 per day; nonprofit
waiver being applied for to eliminate
this expense
(4-10: fee waiver obtained)
-- Train fees: $24 Canadian ($29 on train)
-- Sign up
by May 17 required
-- Contact trip
leader for sign up, or application form if new
-- Review journals
and photos from similar wilderness trips
Specialized equipment required:
-- In-pocket survival
kit (knife, matches, firestarters,
compass, whistle); Sierra Club survival
kits can be
borrowed free of charge
-- River-fording footwear
-- Some basic climbing equipment may be required
Rations required:
-- Breakfasts--10
(Friday morning restaurant stop)
-- Snacks--11
-- Lunches--11
-- Dinners--10
-- Backup rations--1 full days
-- Rations and stoves info
Additional destination info:
-- Algoma Central
Railway, 1-800-242-9287, http://www.algomacentralrailway.com
-- Lake Superior Provincial Park headquarters, 1-705-856-2284,
http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/MNR/parks/lakes.html
-- "Railpacking," by Don Stap, Backpacker
Magazine, September 1985, pp. 48-49.
-- Backpacking and Wilderness Camp Site Areas in
Algoma Central Country, undated 3-page photocopy by Algoma Central
Railway.
-- Canoe Routes, Lake Superior Provincial Park
brochure, 2000 edition
-- Hiking Trails, Lake Superior Provincial Park
brochure, 2001 edition
-- The Complete Guide to Walking in Canada, by
Elliott Katz (Firefly Press, 2001)
-- Voyageur Hiking Trail Guidebook, (Voyageur
Trail Association, 1998)
-- Agawa Ice Climbing Map, (Granite Publishing,
1999) http://www.climbingcentral.com
-- Algoma Central Railway, by O. S. Nock (A.
C. Black Limited, 1975)
-- Tracks of the Black Bear, by Dale Wilson and
Gordon D. Jomini (Nick Belt Rails, 1990)
-- The Algoma Central Railway Story, by Dale
Wilson (Nick Belt Rails, 1984)
-- Forest Trails: Mile by Mile, by Rick Vosper
(Algoma Central Railway, 2002)
-- Ice Climbs of the Lake Superior Region--A Compendium,
edited by Don Hynek (Granite Publishing, 2000) [Agawa Canyon and Montreal
River Gorge, pp. 133-172]
-- Guide to Sea Kayaking on Lakes Superior and Michigan:
The Best Day Trips and Tours, by Bill Newman, Sarah Ohmann, and Don
Dimond (Globe Pequot Press, 1999) [Lake Superior Provincial Park, pp.
174-181]
-- Exploring
Superior Country--The Nature Guide to Lake Superior by Craig Charles
(1992, NorthWood Press, Inc.)
-- Search destination in http://www.google.com
search engine
Travel
info:
-- Driving maps
-- Road conditions and weather
reports
-- Tourism info
-- Road trip gear
Wilderness skills and resources info:
-- Backpacking
skills
-- Land nav skills
-- River fording skills
-- Water purification
skills
-- Lightning safety
-- Low-impact skills
-- Backpacking links, books,
& vendors
-- Ultralight backpacking
links, books, & vendors
--
Dressing warm skills
-- Sleeping warm skills
-- Winter-camping skills
-- Ice-crossing skills
-- Snowshoe links, books,
& vendors
-- Winter-camping
links, books, & vendors
Emergency contacts:
-- Ontario Provincial
Police, Wawa, 1-888-310-1122
-- Ambulance, Wawa, 705-856-4203
-- Hospital, Wawa, 705-856-2335
-- LSPP Red Rock Lake Headquarters, 705-856-2284
-- Algoma Central Railway, 1-800-242-9287
-- Sierra Club Outings Department 24-hour help line:
1-888-outings
Provisional itinerary:
Note: 95-percent of these route objectives
are not marked with placenames or other designations on any maps and
have not been visited by any members of this expedition; they are probable
points of interest based on map study and evaluation only; many will
not pan out, a few will be magnificent. All UTM coordinates are calculated
from edition 3 1:50,000 quads using a map datum of NAD 1983 CA; to convert
to map datum NAD 1927 CA for plotting on edition 2 1:50,000 quads or
1:20,000 base maps, subtract 222 meters from northing coordinate. Warning:
plot conversions to 1:20,000 base maps will not be precise; edition
3 1:50,000 quads lack hydro line plot.
- Start at Mile 102.5 Frater ACR Station
(abandoned)
...Hike southbound along ACR railroad grade to Mile 96
- Hubert Mountain 693300mE 5242250mN
...summit cleared; 300' tower per edition 3 quads
...Friday night bivouac
- Montreal River Gorge
...525' cliff/falls 695450mE 5241150mN
...675' cliff 696800mE 5242000mN
...500' cliff/falls 696800mE 5342000mN
...Saturday night bivouac
...Hike north overland and along Hydro Line
...Sunday night bivouac
- Mile 109.5 Little Agawa River Gorge
and Falls 690500mE 5249200mN
...High probability of numerous falls based on recon of river between
ACR tracks and Agawa River in 1995
...Monday night bivouac
- ...Hike northbound along ACR railroad
grade to Mile 111 and recon East Canyon Wall at Mile 111 Creek for a
possible route to ascend wall. If no route found, ascend canyon wall
at Railway Creek Falls (Mile 112) route reconned in 2002
- Mile 111 Creek, Low Falls 691150mE
5251500mN
...Never visited but heard falling water in past
- Mile 111 Creek, High Falls 691650mE
5251400mN
- Mile 111 800' South Summit 691450mE
5251050mN
...Tuesday night bivouac
- Mile 111 475' North Summit 691050mE
5251650mN
- Mile 111.5 Creek Falls 691600mE 5251900mN
- Mile 112 650' South Summit 690850mE
5252600mN
- Mile 112 Railway Creek Falls 690750mE
5252950mN
...nice falls in slot canyon confirmed in 2002
- Railway Lake Falls 691100mE 5253750mN
...nice falls seen from 200 meters in 2002, not reconned
...Wednesday night bivouac
- Mile 113 Bridal Vail Falls (canyon
wall) 690300mE 5254200mN
...Well-know 240' falls, ascended to top, from mile 112, in 2002
- Mile 113 Bridal Vail Falls 575' North
Summit 690200mE 5254500mN
- Mile 113 Bridal Vail Creek Falls (bush)
691100mE 5254900mN
- Mile 114 Canyon Station 625' Summit
690150mE 5255200mN
- Mile 114 Canyon Station 500' North
Summit No. 1 690100mE 5255900mN
- Mile 114 Canyon Station 500' North
Summit No. 2 690150mE 5256325mN
...Thursday night bivouac
- Mile 115.5 750' South Summit 689800mE
5257700mN
- Mile 115.5 775' North Summit 689700mE
5258100mN
- Mile 116 Falls 690000mE 5258800mN
- Mile 117 425' Agawa Gorge (Monument)
Summit 689400mE 5259550mN
- Mile 117 Lake Falls 690600mE 5259900mN
...Friday night bivouac
- Shannon Lake Creek Upper Falls 693800mE
5259500mN
- Shannon Lake Creek Lower Falls 693950mE
5260100mN
...reconned in 2004
- Eleven Mile Creek swim 692950mE 5261100mN
...bridge just about destroyed in 2004; may be gone
- Raindrop Lake Falls 690650mE 5263050mN
...spotted from distance of 800 meters in 2004, not reconned
...Saturday night bivouac
- Mile 119 Agawa River swim (bridge
washed out) 689000mE 5263400mN
...Sunday night backup
- Return to Mile 102.5 ACR Frater Station
(abandoned) by flagging down and boarding southbound ACR train (No.
632), which passes by after 1:40 pm and only runs on Thursday, Saturday,
Sunday, and Monday
Land Nav Team Info:
Topographic maps:
1:50,000 Old Woman Lake 41N/10 & 41N/11 (required)
1:50,000 Grey Owl Lake 41 N/8 (required)
1:50,000 Agawa Bay 41 N/7 (required)
1:50,000 Black Spruce Lake 41 N/9 (required)
1:20,000 20-16-6800-52400 (Ontario
base map, optional)
1:20,000 20-16-6800-52500 (Ontario
base map, optional)
1:20,000 20-16-6800-52600 (Ontario
base map, optional)
1:20,000 20-16-6900-52400 (Ontario
base map, optional)
1:20,000 20-16-6900-52500 (Ontario
base map, optional)
1:20,000 20-16-6900-52600 (Ontario
base map, optional)
--Topo map ordering
information
--Topo map waterproofing
& GPS prep
Park maps:
1:100,000
Lake Superior Provincial Park Map
--Order at 1-705-856-2284
2005
Magnetic declination specs:
Magnetic declination
for Lat 47° 24'N, Lon 84°28'W:
07° 31' west
UTM easting grid line to meridian
line deviation:
02° 01' east
(Gray Owl Lake, edition 2 quad)
UTM easting grid line magnetic declination:
09° 32' west
GPS
configuration specs:
Grid coordinate
system
1000-meter Universal
Transverse Mercator Grid (UTM)
UTM grid horizontal map datum:
1:20,000 maps:
1927
North American Datum Canada (NAD 27 Can)
1:50,000 edition 2 (old) maps:
1927
North American Datum Canada (NAD 27 Can)
1:50,000 edition 3 (current)
maps:
1983
North American Datum (NAD 83)
UTM grid zone:
Zone 16
UTM grid hemisphere:
Northern hemisphere
Unit of measure:
Metric
Battery type:
Lithium, for deep
cold, or long-range use
Alkaline, for 3-season
use
Battery type setting:
Select type of battery
(lithium, alkaline, or Ni-Cad);
battery discharge-rate
differences affect meter accuracy
Misc nav setup:
Roamer
UTM plotter scale(s):
1:20,000 & 1:50,000
Ranger pacing
beads:
Metric--9 100-meter
beads; 4 1-kilometer beads
Magnetic declination setting on compass:
0° of offset
More land
nav team info
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